East Cambs Greens launch social care pledge for over 65s

9 March 2015

Clive Semmens, Green Party General Election candidate for South East Cambridgeshire said

"The Green Party believes dignity is a human right and good social health is an essential part of this. Our proposals would give everyone access to a high standard of care, allowing them dignity and certainty rather than the worry and financial hardship that too many currently experience."

Key features of the Green Party's proposals are:

An integrated health and social care service which is free at the point of use for every adult aged 65 and over

The new system would be designed in consultation with experts, users and care workers

Costed at £7 billion in 2015, the new policy would be paid for by new taxes on wealth and financial transactions and by cracking down on tax avoidance

Clive Semmens said

"The pressures of an increasing and ageing population are particularly acute in Cambridgeshire. None of us looks forward to the challenges that come from getting older. But this stark idea would seem much less scary if we knew when it came to it we could expect care based on dignity and respect for as long as we needed it, rather than relying on friends and relatives and worrying about cost."

"The current means tested system is unfair and wasteful. Valuable public resources, which would be better spent on descent care, are instead channelled into unnecessary bureaucracy while huge numbers of vulnerable people are left without the care they need."

Natalie Bennett, Leader, Green Party of England and Wales, said

"Providing Free Social Care for the Over 65's means security and freedom from fear, suffering and loneliness for many, and it means 200,000 new jobs and training places. We will consult experts, users, and care workers on its exact design – but our manifesto will include this as a core pledge: social care is not a privilege, it is a right."

NotesThe Green Party's new Social Care Policy was launched on 6 March 2015. Details available from the Green Party website.

Rising population means pressure of social care services in East Cambridgeshire is also predicted to increase significantly in coming years. The largest population band in East Cambridgeshire is 40-64, which constitutes over a third of the population with significant growth forecast 65-74 and 75+ age groups by 2031.

Services are under great pressure. Cambridgeshire is among the 87 percent of local authorities where only adults with the highest level of needs (assessed as 'substantial' or 'critical') receive financial support for their care.